Union asks court to review U of Ottawa executive pay hikes

The union representing full-time faculty at the University of Ottawa is asking the court to determine if the University violated Ontario’s public sector wage freeze by raising the salaries of senior administrators.

“The University insists that faculty have to prepare for cuts to programs, teaching assistants, library services and so on – students are also paying among the highest tuition fees in the country,” said Jennifer Dekker, President of the Association of Professors of the University of Ottawa. “So we are reasonably asking why the administrators are awarding themselves massive raises while the province has made it clear that administrators are not to receive pay increases.”

Based on information released in Ontario’s “Sunshine List”, the APUO has found that one senior executive received a pay hike of over 40%.

The APUO is alleging the pay raises are illegal under the province’s 2010 Broader Public Sector Accountability Act, which mandates that executive compensation at universities and other public institutions cannot be increased.